Field Superintendent Dallas Clark Renney tours us through the Nanaimo Aboriginal Centre Passive House construction site March 2018

In mid-March, Passive House Canada office staff toured the Nanaimo Aboriginal Centre Passive House site with Field Superintendent Dallas Clark Renney of Saywell Construction Management. As a co-op student from the University of Victoria, I am just learning about Passive House building methodology and this was my first site visit. Dallas greeted us at the site gate with the sleeves of his purple shirt rolled up, wearing well worn work boots and a black hard hat, a tape measured hanging off the pocket of his jeans, and an energy drink in his hand. He had stopped running the heavy machinery to give us the tour.

VICTORIA – To help the building community prepare for new energy-efficiency standards in B.C., Passive House Canada and design and construction industry leaders present the latest developments in high-performance building at BUILDEX Vancouver, February 14–15.

Every year, more Passive House energy-efficient six-storey multi-residential buildings, high rises and institutional buildings are being planned and constructed in B.C. The construction industry is changing as building professionals, developers, manufacturers, and public officials seek to deliver these high-performance buildings and differentiate themselves in a competitive marketplace.

“Building codes are changing to require greater energy efficiency in communities across Canada, and it’s important industry understand the benefits and requirements in designing and constructing high-performance buildings,” says Passive House Canada CEO Rob Bernhardt, one of the presenters at the Passive House seminars at BUILDEX Vancouver. “Industry leaders have come together at BUILDEX to share their knowledge and experience with B.C.’s building community.”

Passive House Canada is thrilled to invite you to join us from November 7 – 8, 2018 for the Passive House Canada Conference! The conference call for speakers received over 100 submissions by Passive House Professionals across Canada in and Europe.

We look forward to announcing the conference’s preliminary program in the first week of July.

Passive House Canada is collaborating with the UN Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) Committee on Forests and the Forest Industry, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, and the Canadian Wood Council, which will be holding annual conferences alongside ours in the same facility. The week’s conference events are aligned by a focus on the emerging market transformation within the building and forestry industries and the overlaps and intersections in trends and opportunities these industries are experiencing.

The conference is an incredible opportunity to demonstrate and learn how, in relation to buildings, the UN can achieve its Sustainable Development Goals, Canada can meet its Paris Commitments and achieve the goals identified in the Pan Canadian Framework, Build Smart and the Greening Government Strategy, moving forward on Net Zero Ready buildings.

Passive House Canada’s program takes place on November 7 and 8, and complements the UNECE program, which begins November 5, and Wood Council’s program, scheduled for November 6. Conference-related tours are scheduled for November 9, including tours of Vancouver-area Passive House buildings.

Between speaking to representatives from cities around the world, presenting our Building Enclosures course to local industry, and presenting the latest policy and technical developments in cold-climate high-performance building, Passive House Canada will be spending much of March in Edmonton.

We’ve begun planning for the 2018 Passive House Conference to take place in November in Vancouver, B.C., need your help to contribute ideas, expertise, time and awesomeness to make this a world-class event.

If you missed the Passive House Deep Dive on October 31 or the Passive House seminar series at BUILDEX Calgary on November 8-9, some of the speakers have provided their presentations for our Building Professionals Resource Centre. You can also download them here.

About 125 people took part in our northeastern B.C. outreach and training events in November. Almost 30 people and 50 people participated in our introductory courses in Prince George and Fort St. John, respectively, to learn about better ways to build. The City of Prince George sent a municipal planner seeking information on how to make the city’s planned fire station Passive House.